The Kia Sorento Thread [Merged]

[gregg_g]

any comments on fuel consumption?

Hi Radiazone,

Spinaxl and I, gave our feedback to your query in our previous posts in this thread, just review... thanks... Hope your a Sorento fan also...

[eggman]

Sorento with "X5" style grill spotted at WTC during the manila motorshow:

Yan yung bagong mukha ng 3.5 V.6 EX Gasoline dito sa Philippines,sabi ng taga ABBA Motors sa Makati.New looks,same price.Pero yung Sorento CRDi ay EX Version na at hindi na LX(starting this May).Ang nadagdag ay two tone body paint with cladding(YES!),power side view mirrors at colorkeyed door handles.Ang price ay nagtaasna din.1.140.000 ang M/T 4WD EX at 1.210.000 ang A/T 4WD EX.Six na ang available colors(green at blue ang nadagdag)Tawag nalang kayo kay Ms Maribel Predas ng Kia Makati for more details:817-8416.

[mazdamazda]

Pero yung Sorento CRDi ay EX Version na at hindi na LX(starting this May).Ang nadagdag ay two tone body paint with cladding(YES!),power side view mirrors at colorkeyed door handles.Ang price ay nagtaasna din.1.140.000 ang M/T 4WD EX at 1.210.000 ang A/T 4WD EX.Six na ang available colors(green at blue ang nadagdag)

Pa clarify lang naman nito...

Yung CRDi na EX before... LX na ang trim (pero EX pa rin ang designation?)? Yung front fascia? Katulad rin ba nung nasa pics (sana huwag naman).

[mbt]

went to kia q. ave today with carlocaraddict to inspect a Kia Sorento LX diesel automatic, for comparison with the Fortuner.

in two word, i found this base-model sorento somewhat disappointing. i think i'd pick the fortuner over the sorento, even if the fortuner has sloppy handling and a higher price (we didnt test-drive a sorento, but maybe i'll schedule one soon).

impressions (keep in mind that we inspected a base-model sorento and not a trim level more in line with the top-range Fortuner):

- styling isn't as dynamite as the fortuner's.

- the sorento is much smaller inside than the fortuner. it's size is closer to the CR-V than to the fortuner, although the fortuner is intuitively the sorento's competitor (the sportage is kia's offering in the CR-V's market).

- the back seat is a huge let-down. it sinks like a puffy marshmallow when you sit on it, and it's low on the floor such that thigh support is lacking. in fact, an altis' rear seat is subjectively roomier than the sorento's. the sorento's back seat doesn't slide or recline, but does fold flat to the floor.

- the price of the sorento LX with the 2.5 CRDI engine and automatic transmission has since increased to P1,210,000, but the features list is horribly lacking. this model has manual side mirrors for crying out loud. the upmarket Sorento Limited 2.5 CRDI A/T -- with power everything and a more butch body, but not leather seats and a passenger airbag -- is a better value at P1,310,000. the sorento isn't the value-leader kia made it out to be anymore, with the base model's price jumping from P990,000 a few months ago to above P1,100,000.

the current pricing of the diesel sorento is as follows (according to the saleslady):
Sorento 2.5 LX manual: P1,140,000
Sorento 2.5 LX automatic: P1,210,000
Sorento 2.5 EX automatic: P1,310,000 (adds power side mirrors, body cladding, rather cheap-looking faux wood trim, and foglights to the LX package)

- quality and sophistication seem a far cry from the fortuner. the quality of the plastic panels aren't as good as the toyota's, the knobs and switches feel junkier, the fabrics and door sidings feel downmarket, the instrument cluster lights an unattractive lime green (compared to the fortuner's bright, styilsh cluster), the stero head unit seems chintzier, etc etc.

- tentative conclusion: the LX feels too much of a poverty package. the EX is a better deal even with the increased pricing, but save up for the fortuner 3.0 4x4 if you can.

[Sorento3500]

Here's a long-term drive review of the Sorento:

Got my gas Sorento in June 04 and have logged over 25,000kms to date. I have a mountain resort in Mt. Isarog in Bicol and this can only be accessed through carabao trails. I take the Sorento up there only when I have guests (including my 79yr old mom) otherwise I use a Suvic Land Cruiser 80 ( which I don't mind it getting dings and scratches). I do worry about the Sorento getting scratched from sharp bamboo branche and dented from scraping the sides of mountains (when negotiating deep ruts the vehicle tilts up to 35 degrees on its side, and when the tires slip, could end up banging against the tall slab-sided trails).

I am probably one of the few in the this country who has been roughing up the Sorento quite a bit (if not THE most...). I also regularly drive through Quirino Highway in Quezon and Bicol, and, if you're familiar with the road, you know dirivng through there is no picnic and is torture for any vehicle. The Sorento takes it all with aplomb and without causing spinal injury on any of its passengers. But you wouldn't know it if you rode in it while driving in Makati -- it is as quiet inside as the day I drove it out of the dealer showroom.

With the Fortuner, the Isuzu Altera, the (outdated) Mitsu Montero Sport all threatening their marketing bluff on the horizon, I think the Sorento holds its own very well, and, if I may say so, head and shoulders above them all. The quiet ride of the Sorento is one thing I still can't get over -- not a single rattle, squeak nor hiss... I don't know about the diesel vehicles, but, having come from a diesel 2002 Pajero myself, the difference is like heaven and...(you fill the missing word).

I was a skeptical buyer of a korean vehicle myself (only my second one, the first was a 2000 Starex which gave me 140,000 kms of worry-free, painless and the most comfortable ride before I sold it), but my latest experiences with the 2 vehicles made me a convert. On-road or plugging it in bouldery mountain trails (on street tires, yet), the Sorento 3500V6 gas rides like a dream.

Sure it's a Kia, not quite up to Japanese and Euro standards, they say, but read the voluminous reviews about it and , better yet, ride or drive a gas model, and it'll make you a believer. Uh, yeah, it does like to drink quite a bit. But with diesel and gas prices getting closer to each other in the pumps, it's not so bad no more... And well worth it.

[eggman]

i still prefer the Sorento over its rivals.Still its a must buy lalo na yung LX at EX CRDi.

[radiazone]

Hi Radiazone,

Spinaxl and I, gave our feedback to your query in our previous posts in this thread, just review... thanks... Hope your a Sorento fan also...

pasensya gregg_g wala ko nakabantay pagpost taas pa man diay akong basahonon sa thread

[KCboy]

wat u think of the kia sorrento 2.5crdi? gusto ko talaga fortuner 4x4 dad crdi but la na yat chance makakuha this year....alterra naman 4x4 lang n mahal. thinking of the xterra but til now la pa balita....

[wildthing]

i don't think sorrento was an improvement in any kia product....it's still a kia. even there 2.7L diesel na minitruck didn't work well for a friend of mine who have it.

why not try the montero instead?

[KCboy]

la yata stock yung montero........fortuner naman haba pila...